


Hunting Ground

by Galen_Wordwyrm



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Crush, Awkward Romance, Character Study, Cosplay, F/M, Late Night Conversations, Mistaken Identity, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23573176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galen_Wordwyrm/pseuds/Galen_Wordwyrm
Summary: A new Miraculous holder is in Paris. A new student at the school. And new danger.
Relationships: Sabrina Raincomprix/Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for some friends, new and old.

Cheerful adolescent chaos ruled the classroom of Mademoiselle Bustier for several minutes after the announcement of various plans for Hero's Day, and it took her three attempts to bring the class back to order.

“I have one other announcement. We are joined today by a foreign exchange student from Canada, and they will be studying with us for the next six weeks!”, Mme. Bustier informed the class with visible enthusiasm. “Please extend a friendly Collège François DuPont welcome to Garth Johnson-Poundmaker! Garth, please rise and introduce yourself.”

Garth rose from the very back row of the class, taller than Kim, more massive than Ivan. Blue-black hair tied back in a short pony-tail, sapphire blue eyes, and a complexion with a faint copper undertone suggesting mixed heritage. An unusual narrow curved triangular pendant of yellowed ivory hung from a braided leather thong around his neck over a T-shirt emblazoned by the band logo for ‘A Tribe Called Red'. An unique bracelet made of bone hairpipe beads, purple dyed porcupine quills, and braided horsehair circled his left wrist.

“Bonjour. Je m’appelle Garth Johnson-Poundmaker”, he smiled self-consciously, his passable French tinged with an accent that made his deep tenor voice intriguing. “My paternal grandmother is Ka'nehsatà:ke Mohawk, my maternal grandfather was Plains Cree. I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, but live in Coquitlam, British Columbia, in the unceded Coast Salish territory. Both of my parents are professional artists.”

“Artists?! Really?”, blonde Chloé Bourgeois purred with a calculating smile, looking over her shoulder at Garth. “Are you an artist?”

Garth shook his head, modest. “Not like my parents. I’m just a woodcarver. Sometimes I do a bit of carving in stone.”

“Do you play any sports?”, Kim asked brightly.

“I used to play lacrosse and rugby. Got too big. These days I study Okichitaw, the Cree martial art.”

“Adrian studies fencing!”, Marinette volunteered, waving. Adrian ducked his head slightly in mild embarrassment. Chloé frowned at Marinette.

“We have a swordplay and fencing sallé in Vancouver, the Academii Duelo”, Garth nodded.

“Oh! I’ve heard of them!”, Adrian enthused, green eyes glinting. “Do you know Meistre Devon?”

“I’ve met him, taken a few of his classes.”

Adrian nodded. “Perhaps we can make a few passes sometime soon.”

“Thank you, Garth. Please resume your seat, and we will carry on with today’s lesson", Mme. Bustier instructed.

*-*-*

Marinette and Alya balanced their cafeteria trays as they looked for a place to sit and enjoy their lunch, finally spotting two unoccupied chairs at the table Garth occupied. He nodded when they asked if they could share the table with him, leaving one seat open. 

Alya stared at Garth for a moment while Marinette set out her food. “So what’s it like where you live?”

“Pretty nice", Garth replied, picking at the green garden salad in a bowl he cradled in one large hand. “The Greater Vancouver area is surrounded by mountains and forest, with the Fraser River running down into the Georgia Straight. On clear days you can see Vancouver Island or Mount Baker, the dormant volcano in Washington state.”

Marinette blinked. “You have volcanoes in Canada?” 

“One or two. They’re dormant or extinct, and not anywhere close to the Lower Mainland. BC has plenty of minor earthquakes though”, Garth explained.

“What do you think of Paris?”, Alya inquired. 

“Nice enough, I guess”, Garth shrugged. “Awful flat though. Not that it’s a bad thing.”

Marinette couldn’t argue the last point. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d run along the rooftops of the city as Ladybug, alone or with Chat Noir. From three or four floors up, the few skyscrapers or tall structures of Paris were definite landmarks.

Alya smiled impishly behind her glasses. “Have you seen Ladybug since you arrived?” Marinette almost choked on her sandwich.

“The superhero?” Garth shook his head. “Not lucky enough, I guess. Heard a lot about her and the blonde one, though.”

“The blonde one?”, Marinette giggled, picturing Chat's offended expression when she told him.

“Yeah, the one called Honeybee”, Garth smiled. “She’s got a fan club in the interior.” 

Alya put her fork down, slightly stunned. “We can not let Chloé hear about this. She’ll be insufferable!”

“Not let Chloé hear about what? WHOOPS!!”, Sabrina Raincomprix yelped as she tripped over Alya’s schoolbag. Alya and Marinette both winced, expecting to hear the thump as red-head landed on the cafeteria’s tile floor. Instead, silence for a heartbeat or two. Marinette opened her eyes to find Garth had caught Sabrina with one large hand under her, and was lifting her upright gently.

“Oh!”, Sabrina blushed. “Thank you!”

It was Alya’s turn to blink. “Wow. Fast, strong, polite, and an artist.”

Sabrina stared at Garth, hands clasped in front of her, awestruck. “You saved me!”

Garth ducked his head. “S'okay. I didn’t want you to get hurt is all.”

The bell for afternoon classes rang, and lunch trays were returned as students filed out of the cafeteria before heading to class. Sabrina spent the rest of the day trying to catch a glimpse of the tall exchange student, much to Chloé's annoyance. In Ms. Mendeleive's class Sabrina quickly volunteered to pair with Garth for an assignment, making Chloé even more exasperated.

When classes were dismissed for the day, Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrian were only steps away when Chloé confronted Sabrina.

“And just how am I supposed to finish these assignments?”, Chloé demanded, thrusting a blue school file folder at Sabrina as she followed Garth.

Sabrina frowned, torn between loyalty and infatuation, until Garth noticed what was happening and turned to intervene. “What kind of example is a mayor’s daughter setting by treating her classmates like servants?”, Garth asked firmly but politely, poking the file folder from beneath with one finger until Chloé held it close to herself. “So much for ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité', eh?”

Chloé stood open-mouthed in surprise. No-one had ever talked back to her in such fashion, much less a boy her own age. “But, but, but…”

“Don’t think I'm being rude, s’il vous plaîs. I know I always feel better if I do things for myself”, Garth smiled. “Tell you what. I'll bet one of my carvings against your grade on the project.”

Chloé crossed her arms and leaned back, tapping one foot, doubtful. “Show me first.”

Garth slipped his daypack off his shoulder, opened the zipper, rummaged inside for a moment and then held out a small paperboard box that contained a thumb-sized piece of yellow nephrite jade that had been carved and polished into a leaping orca. “Not my best work", he shrugged.

"It’s gorgeous", Chloé breathed, astounded. “How much?”

“Tell me honestly how you feel after you get your grade and it’s yours”, Garth said, putting the box away. Chloé had a determined gleam in her eye as she marched to the limousine waiting for her at the curb.

“You’re going to lose that carving", Nino observed as the long white luxury car pulled away.

“She was my ride home", Sabrina whimpered.

“Can I walk with you then?”, Garth offered. 

Sabrina grinned cheerfully, her worries instantly forgotten. “Okay!”

Alya stood next to Marinette, her arm around Nino's waist. “He has no idea what’s about to happen, does he?”, she asked her best friend.

“I kinda feel sorry for him", Adrian admitted, and Marinette nodded in agreement.


	2. Chapter 2

Heroes Day.

Ladybug and Chat Noir sprinted over the rooftops, racing to confront Scarlet Moth and hopefully defeat the villain once and for all, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with his blood-hued minions only when forced by circumstance, inspiring and inspired by the resistance of the citizens of Paris who engaged with the akumatised minions so the heroic duo could complete their mission to save the city.

Hurdling a barricade built by the resourceful citizens, Ladybug and Chat Noir accepted the impromptu assistance before leaping for the rooftops to continue their quest.

Below them the resistance prepared for the impending battle. The re-akumatised villain Darkblade paused for a moment when he saw the barricade.

“What?! A revolution? Charge!”, he commanded his legion of akuma-corrupted soldiers. A low rumble that quickly pitched up to a screeching, echoing bugle call answered the cheering of Darkblade's infantry. A russet-brown blur shot over the barricade and collided with the close formation, scattering them like bowling pins.

Darkblade attacked from posta di donna, only to have his stroke countered by a staff before a savage kick stove in his cuirass and knocked him on his back to slide along the pavement in his armor, skidding to a stop against the curb. A knee slammed into his chest at the same time the butt of the staff shattered the blade his longsword, freeing him from his akumatised state, and freeing his unwilling foot soldiers at the same time.

The staff swung again, and the dark akuma vanished in a flash of light when it touched the butterfly.

“Who? What?”, Armand D’Argentcort wheezed, astonished.

“Huh. Call me Whapiti", the huge figure grunted. “Gotta go!”

Whapiti’s leap carried him clear over the roofline of the three story rowhouse.

*-*-*

Sabrina Raincomprix whimpered as she fled through the side streets of Paris, doing her best to stay clear of the numerous battles that had broken out all over Paris as well as roaming scarlet akuma victims. The slender ginger haired girl was at a definite disadvantage, as her own brief return to being Scarlet Moth's agent ‘Vanisher' had resulted in her glasses being broken again. Now the world was a soft blur, adding to her difficulties. She rounded a corner and bumped into the back of a scarlet clad villain. 

Pixelator, once again in search of his idol, felt a flash of irritation at the collision which had destroyed his latest photographic composition. Whirling, his cyclopean eyepiece showed a slight, terrified red-haired young woman in black leggings, a teal skirt, and violet Argyll-pattern sweater vest over a long sleeve white shirt. Her terror was stark, brilliant, refreshing.

“Look into the lens!”, Pixelator hissed.

“Ca-Caw!!”

Pixelator froze for a second at the battle cry, almost half-turned before a forearm blow snapped up into his left arm, knocking his hand away from the shutter button on his camera headpiece, followed almost instantly by a stunning punch to his sternum, a short jabbing elbow to the ribs under his left arm, and a snap-kick to his right knee that dropped him to the ground. Strong fingers hooked under the rim of his headpiece, lifting it away to be smashed by a thick wooden baton that then captured the dark akuma as it fluttered free. 

Vincent Aza scrambled frantically to escape further punishment, vanishing into the crowd of his most recent victims.

Sabrina stared up at the completely unfamiliar hero who had saved her.

“Are you alright?”, he rumbled.

Sabrina nodded. “You’re not one of Ladybug's friends! Who are you?! Do you work for Papillion?!”, she demanded, more than a little frightened.

“Papillion? That’s who is corrupting these spirits?”, the large figure inquired.

“Uh-huh", Sabrina squeaked, nodding.

“Is there some place safe I can take you?”

“Home?”, Sabrina whimpered.

He scooped her up like a child in his arms, and Sabrina squeaked. “Which way?”, he asked.

Sabrina pointed, and screamed, clinging to her rescuer as he leapt to the nearest rooftop with ease, his running pace making her hair flutter in the wind of their passing. She gasped, laughing as he would jump across broad streets in a single bound, never breaking stride. 

They landed outside her front door, and he put her down gently. 

“Th-thank you, monsieur…?”, Sabrina blushed, tucking a strand of her ginger hair behind her ear.

“Whapiti”, he grinned. “Just Whapiti.”

Sabrina turned to enter her home. “Please stay there. I’d like to get my spare pair of glasses so I can get a proper look at the person who saved me.”

“I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt." That sounded quietly familiar, and Sabrina paused, turning.

He was already gone. 

*-*-*

The park was crowded with students from Collége François DuPont celebrating Heroes Day, seated on blankets awaiting the celebratory fireworks display. Food was passed around in quantity, and even Chloé was cheerfully smiling. 

Marinette blushed as she stood in the remains of Adrian’s contributed quiche after she had kissed him, cheered on by her classmates.

“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in", Chloé smirked pettily from her chaise lounge as Garth Johnson-Poundmaker approached the group. “There’s fashionably late, and then there's too late.”

“Yeah, I got lost in all the excitement today", Garth apologised as he sat cross-legged on one of the blankets, close to Sabrina. 

“Umm, that’s why I had to get my spare pair of glasses", Sabrina said quietly. Marinette felt a twinge of guilt because she knew why. “But I was rescued by a superhero!”, Sabrina smiled shyly. 

Overhead, the fireworks had begun.

“Ugh, you did not!”, Chloé huffed. “I was Queen Bee, I was there for the fight against Papillion. Don’t make up stories!” 

“Wait, you’re Honeybee?”, Garth grinned.

“That’s Queen Bee!”, Chloé snapped, fuming, arms crossed.

“Huh. Wait ‘til I tell Uncle Elmer I met the girl in the poster on his wall at the honey works”, the big Canadian quipped.

“What?!” Chloé sat bolt upright, delighted and slightly shocked.

“Yeah. It’s the one of Honeybee in a yellow and black bikini, with the words ‘I’ll bee seeing you in your dreams’ in the upper left corner.” Garth seemed to enjoy watching as Chloé blushed.

“I never authorized any poster like that!”, she screeched. Chloé stomped away, poking angrily at her phone. “Daddy…!”, she whined, going out of earshot.

Marinette tried to clean the ruined quiche off her shoes as she sat beside her best friend.

Alya glanced up at the black-haired exchange student. “That was a dirty trick", she snickered, tossing her long hair over her shoulder.

“There isn’t a poster of Queen Bee in a bikini?”, Sabrina asked shyly.

Alya answered. “Not even one on ‘Uncle Elmer's' wall, right Garth?”

Garth plucked an apple out of the basket. “Nope. I made it up because I think you're telling the truth, Sabrina.” He took a large bite out of the apple. “Chloé needs to get knocked down a peg or two.”

“Man, you are playing with fire if that’s your plan", Nino chuckled.

Garth lifted his left hand, displaying the waxy, ropey scar on the back that disappeared under his hairpipe bracelet. “Been there, done that”, he chuckled ruefully. 

Sabrina reached out, hesitantly, wanting to touch it, repulsed at the same time. ”Does it hurt?”

Garth extended his hand to Sabrina, encouraging her. “Nah. Just pulls a bit now and then.” Sabrina’s touch was light as a feather. He couldn’t feel it.

Ivan gulped. “How…?”

“Being stupid", Garth admitted, shrugging. “Walking backwards, showing off for a girl at a pow-wow. I tripped, landed on my back, and my hand went into the sacred fire.”

Marinette winced in sympathy, pulling away ever so slightly while rubbing her fingertips together, a vague memory of getting too close to her father’s oven when she was much younger coming to her.

A particularly impressive firework detonated in a supernova of red, white, and blue waves, each one producing a thunderclap that made Marinette and her friends jump slightly in delight, gasping at the display.

Sabrina glanced down, realizing Garth was gently holding her hand.

She smiled up at the fireworks.


	3. Chapter 3

It happened mid-morning during girls phys ed class. Students shouted and cheered at their classmates as the pick-up basketball game saw intense competition between teams captained by longtime rivals Chloé Bourgeois and Marinette DuPain-Chang. The score was tied. Chloé had fouled Marinette moments previously, and now the game hung on the outcome of a three-point penalty free-throw.

“No, no pressure at all, Marinette”, she whispered to herself, dribbling the ball once, twice, held the ball, gauging her throw.

“Before some of us collects our pensions, DuPain-Chang!“, Chloé catcalled, sneering.

Marinette lifted the ball, preparing, flexed her legs…

A rending, screeching, crashing sound of tearing metal exploded above them, a flicker of russet-brown flashing across the courtyard, clipping the overhanging second floor walkway with a resounding clang to shatter the first floor classroom windows below in a thunderous impact.

Chloé, Rose, and every other girl covered their heads, screaming, scattering away from the shards of flying glass and chips of broken brick. 

Marinette sprinted out of sight, seeking cover not from flying debris, but to transform into her superheroine alter-ego, the Miraculous Ladybug.

Meek tag-along Sabrina Raincomprix was the first to cautiously peer into the ruined classroom, seeing a vaguely familiar form slowly rolling upright, staggering to his feet. “Oh yeah", he muttered in English. “I’m gonna be feeling that in the morning…”

“Monsieur Whapiti!”, Sabrina cried in recognition.

Whapiti shuffled through the debris created by his abrupt arrival, patting Sabrina on the shoulder. “Hello again. Sorry about crashing your game. Gotta go” he said, taking two quick limping steps from under the overhang, just in time to witness the arrival of the scarlet-clad Ladybug and her frequent companion, Chat Noir. “Great, just wonderful…”, he muttered.

Marinette had only heartbeats to assess who this bizarre costumed individual was, and what threat he could pose to the school. He was tall, almost as massive as her father, made taller still by the three-tined antlers adorning his head, clad in a creamy russet costume that shaded to brown-black on his arms and legs, face obscured by a velvety black domino mask, a narrow triangular pendant of pale ivory suspended by a thong around his ruffled mane-covered neck, an ornately carved short staff over his back.

“Whoa!” Chat Noir exclaimed as he landed beside his beloved Ladybug, seeing the unexpected visitor to the school. "That looks like trouble on the hoof, my lady.”

“What’s new, pussycat?”, the intruder jeered. “I’d love to stay and ‘chat’, but I've got to ‘bug’ out!” 

Three running steps, and his leap carried him over the school roof back in the direction he'd arrived from, intent on a disturbance Ladybug and Chat now saw, finally, in the distance.

Ladybug blinked. “He out-punned you, Chat. He caught you flatfooted.”

Chat Noir’s grin was feral. “When we’re done with him, he'll have claws for alarm.” 

Ladybug groaned in reply, throwing her yoyo to start swinging after their quarry. 

They quickly discovered while they preferred to traverse the rooftops, their target stuck to surface streets, leaping over intervening buildings with massive grace. Chat Noir and Ladybug were pushing hard, sprinting and springing along the rooflines, still more than a block behind.

“He’s big, but man is he fast!”, Chat panted in appreciation.

“Less talkie, more runnee", Ladybug grunted in reply, hurdling a chimney, leaping to the street, where Chat almost pulled even with their target. “Stand and fight!”, Chat demanded.

A shake of a determined antlered head. “Naw. Gotta beat Arsenal first, then we can tussle, housecat.”

Chat groaned. His opponent wasn’t even breathing hard.

Ahead of them, Whapiti spotted Arsenal, one-time military fan-boy who been denied entry to the French Army, now decked out in a fanciful akuma-created uniform commanding a car transformed into a military vehicle that was a confused hybrid of ancient and modern technologies, a catapult arm capable of throwing a large object clearly visible.

“Hey kitty, what do you if you’re going to hit a moose?”, Whapiti jeered.

“What?!”, Chat Noir gasped, bewildered.

A flash of white teeth as Whapiti grinned. “Speed up.”

Chat Noir was running full out, Ladybug half a block behind, and all Chat could see was the white flash of Whapiti’s rump as he pulled away like Chat was walking.

The impact that came seconds later shattered windows and set car alarms wailing.

The dark akuma fluttered free, Ladybug so winded it took two throws of her yoyo to capture it.

“Bye-bye, little butterfly. No more evil doing for you.”

The purified akuma flew away.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” came the victory cry, and a burst of radiant energy quickly repaired all of the damage throughout Paris wrought by Arsenal. And Whapiti.

“So you’re not akumatised?”, Chat Noir panted, hands on knees, eyeing Whapiti warily.

“Nope. Seems kinda stupid getting taken over by the villain if you ask me.”

“What’s your name? Where are you from?”, Marinette demanded, wheezing.

“I’m called Whapiti", the new hero said. “As for where I come from…well, I don’t ask how you showed up at the school, right?” 

Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at each other, blushing faintly at private thoughts. 

“Anyway, gotta go!”, Whapiti announced. “See you ‘round!”, he called, sprinting away.

“Pound it?” Chat Noir was thoroughly disconcerted. Fists tapped, half-heartedly. 

*-*-*

A block away from Collége François DuPont and out of sight from casual observation, Garth Johnson-Poundmaker quietly spoke. “Nyoom, antlers down”, and a swirling flash of not-quite-white light left the big Canadian standing in an alley. He quickly trotted to the now-intact building, slipped in the front door, quietly making his way to class.

“Protected by powerful spirits, they were", Nyoom counciled. “Excellent allies would they make.”

Garth glanced at the tiny antlered grey-brown spirit his grandfather had gifted him when he’d been given his sacred elk tooth necklace. “Maybe. Wars are not won in a single battle.” Garth quieted, spotting two other students in the same situation he was in. He waved, sheepish, then they all entered Mademoiselle Bustier.

“I’m sure you all have perfectly reasonable explanations for your tardy appearance in class”, she said as they took their seats. “We'll discuss it after class. Now then, who can tell me why explorer Jacques Cartier is important to French history?”

Garth raised his hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Fast As I Can" lyrics are copyright Alan Doyle.

A pleasant breeze rustled the leaves of the Paris morning as Nino Lahiffe and Alya Césaire walked hand in hand along the sidewalk that led up to the broad steps into Collége François DuPont with their wide cast concrete balustrades. Nino liked arriving early as it gave him an opportunity to script the day’s school radio announcements. It was a definite bonus that Alya enjoyed spending extra time with him as their romance blossomed.

To their surprise, they were not the only early arrival. On this morning, the upper end of the right balustrade was occupied by the large Canadian exchange student, Garth Johnson-Poundmaker, his back leaned against the pale brick of the school as he played an unusual stringed instrument, eyes closed, right foot tapping time, using the fingerplucking style that evoked every note of a song that was haunting and almost familiar, plaintive, slightly melancholy.

Nino and Alya paused to listen, entranced, fingers interlaced as they held hands, the tune speaking to them on a level they understood on a deep emotional level, even if they couldn’t explain it to themselves or each other.

The tune trailed off, and the sounds of the morning came back to them. Garth opened his blue eyes, ducked his head shyly as he saw the young couple. “Bonjour. Didn’t see you there.”

“That was beautiful!”, Alya breathed. “Did you write it?”

Garth shook his head. “Naw. Kerry Livgren, back in Seventy-seven.” He unclipped the chromed wire leg-rest from the body of the instrument and started to tuck it into a black gig bag.

“What is that?”, Nino inquired, pointing at the instrument.

“This?”, Garth hefted it. “Electro-Acoustic Traveller Ultra-light guitar, maple through-body neck model, with nylon strings. Easy to pack.”

“You should show that to Luka and his sister. They’re in Rose’s band ‘Kitty Section’”, Nino suggested. 

“Rose is the tiny one?”, Garth asked, making a ‘yay-tall' motion with his right hand.

The schoolbell rang, and the custodian opened the doors for them. Garth, Nino, and Alya made their way to the locker-room to drop off lunches, schoolbags, and other items, then went their separate ways, Nino and Alya to the school multi-media room, Garth to Miss Bustier's classroom, where he took a seat in the back uppermost row and caught up on schoolwork until other students started arriving. 

Miss Bustier arrived, and after taking attendance, started her class as they did every morning, with each student saying something they liked about another student. When it was Alya’s turn, she stood and looked towards the back of the room.

“Garth plays the guitar amazingly well!”, she announced. Chloé and Sabrina turned to look at the big Canadian, Chloé appraisingly, Sabrina in delight. Rose was giddy with excitement, and Juleka smiled at Garth shyly.

Garth stood, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Uh, thanks. Umm, Nino's lucky to have a girl like you, Alya.”

Morning classes passed quickly, and all to soon it was time for lunch. Chloé, Sabrina, Rose and Juleka jockied for position at Garth's table, vying in one manner or another for his attention.

“I’ll bet you're nowhere near as good with a guitar as Alya said you were", Chloé haughtily challenged him.

“Well, I'd like to hear Garth play no matter what!”, Rose enthused. “I’ll bet he's pretty good.”

Garth sighed, slightly annoyed. “I mostly just play for myself to relax. But if you’ll stop bugging me, I’ll play a song, alright?”

“Yaaay!”, Rose cheered, arms raised in excitement.

Garth excused himself to retrieve his instrument, and returned quickly, gig bag in hand, set it on the table to open it and set up the travel guitar.

“It’s so cute!”, Rose squeaked in delight. 

“Cool”, murmured Juleka, nodding in respect at Garth, who strummed the small guitar experimentally, the rich sound of a full-size instrument flowing from it, and began to play.

Other sounds in the cafeteria dropped away, conversations pausing as students listened to the melody being gently plucked and strummed. They’d all heard it, somewhere, at least a dozen times, background music to their lives. But this was something different, something personal, direct.

Around the table with Garth, the girls sat silent, Rose with her hands clasped on her chest in joy, Juleka nodding in time and smiling. Sabrina leaned on the table, eyes closed, chin resting in both hands, lost in the melody, and Chloé was astonished, feeling peaceful, relaxed.

The last notes faded. Chloé quickly wiped away a tear, hoping nobody noticed.

“ ’Here Comes the Sun’ ", Juleka smiled. “Harrison, right?”

Garth nodded, preparing to stow his guitar it's gig bag.

“Do you sing too?”, Rose inquired hopefully.

Garth nodded, modest. “Little bit. Not very often.”

“Sing for us!”, Chloé commanded.

“Please?”, Sabrina quietly pleaded.

Garth glanced at the clock over the cafeteria door, then relented, surrendering to the inevitable, and finger-plucked the introduction, then singing in English in a clear tenor:

“From the first ‘Hello' you gave to me,  
I’ve done nothing else but smile.  
And I know you’re in a hurry,  
But it’s gonna take a while.  
So forgive me if we go slow,  
But there’s something I think you should know

“I’m goin’ fast as I can,  
Please don’t make me rush,  
This feelings coming on way too fast,  
I’ll tell you all of the things that you’ll never forget,  
But I’m not ready to say I love you yet.

“Don’t push me in too deep,  
I’ve always been the fool who rushes in  
I know, you’ve got to take the pieces one-by-one,  
‘Fore you've got everything,  
So forgive me if we take time,  
But there’s something that’s been on my mind

“I’m goin’ fast as I can,  
Please don't make me rush,  
This feelings coming on way too fast,  
I'll tell you all of the things that you'll never forget,  
But I’m not ready to say I love you yet

“Oh, there'll be times when I’m mistaken,  
And times when we're gonna fight,  
But you needn't doubt we can work it out,  
And in time we'll get it right,  
So forgive me if we go slow, but there's something I think you should know…

“I’m goin’ fast as I can,  
Please don't make me rush,  
This feelings coming on way too fast,  
I'll tell you all of the things that you'll never forget,  
But I’m not ready to say I love you yet  
I’m not ready to say I love you yet.”

Garth picked out the last notes of the song, letting them fade away. Applause, cheers and few whistles erupted in the cafeteria after the impromptu performance, and Garth ducked his head shyly as he stowed his instrument.

Juleka smiled at Garth. “That was really good! Where did you learn to play like that?”

Garth grinned self-consciously, holding up the back of his left hand. “Same way I got this: Trying to impress a girl.”

“Did it work?”, Sabrina inquired.

“Naw”, Garth shook his head. “Oh, by the way Chloé, how did your assignment go?”

Caught off guard, Chloé admitted the truth. “Perfect. It went…perfect.” An honest smile, that settled into her usual defensive superior smirk. “Just like always.”

Garth shrugged, fished in his pocket for a moment, and handed over the paperboard box. “As promised.”

Chloé opened the box, gazing at the golden jade figure within. “Oh. You remembered. Umm. Thank you?”

“Gotta keep your word if you give it", Garth grinned.

*-*-*

In a stall of the boys bathroom, golden haired Adrian Agreste blinked back tears, hand over his mouth, trying to calm himself. Plagg hovered nearby.  


“You alright, buddy?”, the kwami of destruction asked, a note of concern in his voice.

Adrian nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting a complete stranger to express exactly how I feel about…her.”

“I know what you mean", said Plagg. “I get choked up like that whenever I see an amazing piece of Camembert.”

Adrian shook his head at the tiny being, bemused.

*-*-*

End of the day, and students were going home, chatting, making plans, or saying goodbye to each other. Those who had heard Garth's lunchtime performance stopped to congratulate him, thanking him. 

Sabrina had made an excuse to Chloé why she couldn't go to Le Grand Paris Hotel that afternoon, waiting until the crowd had thinned out, then trotting to catch up to the big exchange student. 

“Hi!", Sabrina waved, self-conscious. “That was a beautiful song you played for Chloé.” 

“Hey, Sabrina”, Garth nodded, smiling. They walked in silence for a moment.

“Didn’t play it for Chloé”, he eventually said.

Sabrina stared at him. “But…she’s Chloé! Who else would you sing to?”

Garth turned to face Sabrina, walking backward, held up the back of his left hand, smiling. “A girl I wanted to impress.” He turned again, waving at Sabrina. “Gotta go.”

Sabrina stopped in her tracks, thinking, remembering who had been at the table, who he'd looked at the entire time he'd been singing. “Oh", she said.

Then she understood what he’d meant.

“Oh!!”


End file.
